RegardeMoi: A Regular Love Story
by cosipotente
Summary: This is the story of Sanada Yuki, a boy who moves from Lyon, France to the tiny, but beautiful island of Enoshima, Japan and Enoshima's Fishing Prince, Usami Natsuki, the boy he never expected to fall in love with. AU-ish.
1. Chapter 1

**Regarde-Moi: A Regular Love Story**  
PG ; AU-ish

**Notes:** Welcome to my first Tsuritama fic! I plan on this being multi-chaptered but I can't make promises about how often I will update it. Super special thank you to Drosselmeyer's Ancestor and my dear friend, Gwyn for all the help!

* * *

Traveling isn't Sanada Yuki's strong point, though it used to be.

As a child, Yuki had been raised mostly in Japan: at the request of his Japanese mother. When vacations and holidays rolled around, he spent them in France where his French father had been born and raised. Yuki had enjoyed traveling then; it was easy, fun, and exciting.

When his parents divorced, they had filed for joint custody of Yuki and dragged him everywhere they went. His mother's work as a travel journalist took them to different parts of Japan, mostly places in Kyoto and Okinawa. Occasionally, they traveled to New York and California in America. He loved his mother, but her crazy work schedule had often made Yuki wish she would get fired. (She never did, though.)

His time with his dad wasn't as draining, mostly because he hardly saw the man. His father had been an engineering geologist and when the time to be with his father came up, Yuki spent all of his in France. He lived with his grandmother, Kate, while his dad worked in places as far off as Argentina. Yuki didn't mind, he liked spending time with Kate; being with her often felt like the only time his life wasn't hectic.

Trekking half of the globe the way he had, Yuki spoke French, Japanese, and English fluently by fifteen. This impressed his classmates, but traveling took its toll on him. He repeated grades a few times in school and had no real close friends.

And he learned in the hardest, most devastating way that traveling came at a price.

His parents died in a plane crash over the Mediterranean Sea on his sixteenth birthday. Their tragic deaths brought forth a quick end for Yuki's joy of traveling; especially on airplanes. He had never really thought about plane crashes as a kid. He had been young and naïve and thought his parents were invincible. Then one day they were gone and Yuki changed. His grief created within him a deep anxiety about aerial disasters.

It comes over him anytime he thinks about traveling.

As Yuki packs, water that only he can see and feel pools at his feet. Thinking about his parents has opened the floodgates in his mind. The water swirls up and up his legs and its weight, what feels like metric tons, is inescapable. The shirt he had been trying to fold slips out of his sweating hands and falls nowhere near his suitcase.

His chest tightens and his breath comes in short, shallow gasps that get shallower the higher the water rises. Sweat pools and runs down Yuki's face. Here it comes, he thinks, bracing himself for the wave to crash over his face and drown him.

"Yuki, are you alright?"

The wave never comes and Yuki turns stiffly towards Kate. She's standing in his doorway, a gentle, bemused smile on her face. Yuki can feel how his face is stretched, his mouth is open wide and his brows are drawn low, knitted together almost angrily, over his widened eyes. Gargouille, gargoyle, is what his classmates often called him.

"I'm-" he starts but his voice comes out too high pitched, too panicked. He takes a deep breath through his nose and lets it out through his mouth. "I'm fine. I was just, uh, packing."

He snatches the shirt from the floor, folds it quickly, and puts it in his suitcase. He gives her a smile and moves on to fold a pair of shorts. Kate said he would need shorts in Enoshima, it being an island and all.

Surrounded by water. Water where planes can crash.

His grandmother's cool hand rests on his shoulder like an anchor.

"I know you're anxious, but it's the last plane trip you'll have to take for awhile. Besides, once we land in Miyagi, we'll be driving to Enoshima." She says this cheerfully and in Japanese. Since deciding to move them, she was slowly phasing out the instances in which they both spoke French. She constantly told Yuki it was because she didn't want to forget in her old age. He knew she did it for him so his transition back into Japanese society would be less awkward and less stressful.

Though Yuki has a feeling that no matter where he goes, he is always going to be made fun of for something.

He nods, for her sake, and she smiles in return, crow's feet crinkling around her blue-green eyes.

"Finish packing and we'll have lunch before we go to the airport." She ruffles his hair in passing, mussing his already out of control hair into an even crazier mess.

It takes him all of ten minutes to finish packing his things; he even manages to do it without a panic attack. Everything he wants to have with him in Enoshima is put in either his suitcase or the backpack he designated as his carry on. What is left over he puts into boxes that will be shipped to Enoshima when they arrive.

Yuki looks around his room. It's nearly bare, just a writing desk and his bed. In the two years that he's stayed in this room, he never attempted to make it his own, preferring to leave it simple and undecorated. The more stuff he had, the more troublesome it would be to pack for his next move. He grabs his suitcase and leaves the room.

Kate prepares them a small lunch of croque provençal and their last bottles of lemon soda. They eat on the floor in the living room next to the tall, open windows. Yuki half hangs out of one while he eats, looking out at the boats cruising on the water where the Rhône and Saône rivers meet. A summer breeze blows in his face, bringing with it the briny scent of the rivers and the sounds of Perrache.

The quarter isn't all that pretty and in spots it's run down, and the Lyon Confluence project has brought ungodly noise to the formerly quiet neighborhood. There are loud, violent brawls at night occasionally; most times they're between members of the nationalist party and foreign refugees. Yuki's never minded any of this, even the homeless and the prostitutes add to Perrache's strange charm.

Yuki finishes the last of his sandwich and wonders about Enoshima. He's researched about it on the internet, daydreamed about it in class before he was taken out of school. He wonders what sort of charm the island will have.

"Gargouille!"

Someone shouts at him and he nearly drops his soda in surprise. He finds a few of his ex-classmates on the street below, pointing up at him and laughing. Yuki looks over his shoulder. His grandmother is on her cell phone, back to him.

He gives them the bras d'honneur with a sneer. They stare at him with slack jaws. Yuki isn't one for rude language or gestures, in fact, he's never really sworn at anyone. His heart races a little with excitement. He'll never see these jerks again, so he doesn't feel bad about sticking his middle finger up just this once.

Yuki pulls his arms back in the window when he hears Kate hang up. He looks at her, half expecting her to know what he had done. She only smiles.

"We should get going now." She says, reaching for her suitcases.

"I'll get them!" He cries out. Yuki quickly throws his backpack on and grabs his own small suitcase. With a merry glint in her eye, Kate snatches her carry on bag before he can grab it.

"I can carry this just fine." Kate tells him, opening the front door.

"Alright, alright," he huffs playfully, following behind her. Before he closes the door for the last time, gives the apartment a soft smile.

"Adieu."

Yuki shuts the door.

**. . . .**

The taxi speeds down the highway, leaving the airport and its planes behind them. Yuki rests his head against the window and sinks more comfortably into his seat. It feels great to be in a car and on the ground again.

When they had landed in Sendai and Yuki's feet touched the polished linoleum floor of the arrival concourse, he could barely keep himself from slipping to his knees and kissing every inch of space he could. Only the thought of billions of germs teeming on the floor stopped him from a full on make out session.

Blessed, blessed land! Yuki thinks. He closes his eyes as Kate instructs the driver where to take them and the last twenty-hours play on a reel behind his eyelids.

He'd spent the whole hour of their flight from Lyon to Munich chewing his nails almost to the point of bleeding. The plane experienced nothing out of the ordinary, though Yuki's mind still ran wild with thoughts of fiery crashes. They landed in safely in Germany for their first layover, though the four hour stop went by too quickly for his fragile state of mind.

Kate's thin hand was all that kept him sane when they boarded again for Beijing.

The first three hours of the nine hour flight had been excruciating for Yuki. Every small bump of turbulence sent his heart and mind racing. He even went as far as to exchange seats with Kate, not wanting to spend any unnecessary time by a window; his brain fed him too many scenarios of being viciously sucked out and thrown into the open sky.

Yuki budged for nothing, not even his bladder—which hated him after hours of being ignored. (Though when they landed in China and Yuki managed to find a bathroom, it forgave him and all was right with the world.)

While they waited to board for Dalian, he found a Japanese magazine advertising Enoshima. It was nothing big, just a small, half-page spread, but he shared it with Kate anyway. She pointed out a botanical garden the article featured and told him about how she had been there before it was restored.

As Yuki put the magazine away to prepare for boarding, he made a mental note to visit the gardens as well.

When they left Dalian for Sendai, Yuki (finally) managed to sleep, lulled into dreamland with thoughts of exotic flowers and the scent of the ocean. Then the plane touched down on the runway, landing gear rattling the plane around. It terrified him to the point that he woke up almost screaming.

Needless to say, both he and Kate were glad to be off the plane.

Yuki opens his eyes to the feel of Kate's cool fingers shifting through his hair gently. She speaks softly into her phone and he can hear the voice of her former colleague, a Mr. Kashima, whom they're spending a few days with before they leave for Enoshima, coming through the receiver.

He pulls the magazine from Dalian out of his backpack and flips it open to the dog-eared ad of Enoshima. The taxi stalls in traffic and Yuki reads from where he left off.

A picture of a smiling boy, tanned and black haired, jumps out at him. The article lists no name, just "Fishing Prince", and tells Yuki he is a champion fisherman among Enoshima residents. He flips the magazine over, scans the front for a date, and notices it's a fairly outdated issue.

He turns back to the article, staring down at the Fishing Prince's face and the exuberant happiness the camera caught in his expression. Yuki wonders if the boy is still in Enoshima.

**. . . .**

Yuki falls asleep at some point during the ride and wakes up on Kate's shoulder, hands wrapped loosely around the magazine. When he peers out the window, the city has been replaced with the countryside. He lifts his head for a better look and finds they are in a small town of low rises and modern houses built on traditional foundations.

His mind is too jet-lagged to place the name of the town, he turns an askance gaze at his grandmother.

"Furukawa." Kate says, fixing the shoulder of her cardigan where his head had wrinkled it.

He gives her a sheepish smile just as the taxi rolls to a stop in front of a large house. A man steps off the porch, cigarette glowing between his lips. He looks a tad older than Kate but in the evening light, Yuki can't really tell.

Kate pays the fare and shoos Yuki out of the car so he can help the driver unload the trunk. The stranger steps up to Yuki, easily taking most of the bags from him.

"You've grown." He says. "I remember when you barely reached my knees."

Yuki offers him an unsure smile and a deep bow. He has no idea who the man is.

"Come now, Kogota, I doubt he even remembers you." Kate says with an amused smile.

Kogota winks at Yuki and then motions with his head to follow him inside.

The Kashima household is boisterous with two young boys running around and a newborn that, to Yuki, does nothing but cry. Mr. Kogota and his wife are friendly though, and not even thirty-minutes into being there, Yuki already likes them.

The Kashima household is boisterous with two young boys running around and a newborn that, to Yuki, does nothing but cry. Mr. Kogota and his wife are friendly though, and not even thirty-minutes into being there, Yuki already likes them.

Over dinner, which Mrs. Kashima gives Yuki extra servings of, Mr. Kogota tells Yuki stories of when he had worked with Kate before her retirement from the ethnobiology field. Kate interjects occasionally when the older man gets his stories mixed up or makes bad plant jokes.

Yuki laughs along even though most of them go over his head.

The Kashima boys, identical twins Yuki can't tell apart, feeling left out bombard him with questions, asking everything from where he was born to how he got such red hair.

"Like a tomato!" One of them, Koji, Yuki thinks, says loudly. (Yuki snorts; he's heard the joke before.)

"Yuki was born in Japan," Mr. Kogota says before Yuki can respond. "And he got his hair from his father. Though, if I remember correctly, his wasn't quite as red as yours."

Yuki smiles down at the table. He knows which parent he got what particular feature from. Yuki had stared obsessively at pictures of his parents after their deaths until he knew he got his hair and eyes from his dad and his face and rail thin frame from his mom.

Mrs. Kashima gives her husband a little whack to the back of the head sending the twins into a loud laughing fit. Kate pats his knee gently.

"N-no," Yuki says, stumbling over his words. "Mine is definitely more like a tomato."

Everyone laughs and Yuki's proud of himself; he's usually too awkward to make jokes

The topic switches quickly from Yuki's looks to Enoshima and by the time he lays down in the futon Mr. Kogota prepared him, he's almost too excited to sleep. The Enoshima painted in his mind seems almost magical.

He can barely wait to move there.

* * *

**Extra Notes: **If anyone is curious about my Japan settings, I re-watched episode one of Tsuritama until I could figure out where Kate and Yuki moved from. Osaki in Miyagi is what I made out; I just didn't know what town so I picked the town of Furukawa because it looked like some of the scenes from the anime.

Perrache is the 2nd arrondissement of Lyon, in the south of the Presqu'île (the peninsula.) It's currently under going a change with the Lyon Confluent Project.

croque provençal - Basically the same as a croque-monsieur (a hot ham and cheese grilled sandwich) but with tomatoes. Run to your nearest French cafe/restaurant and stuff a couple hundred of these down your throat. It will be the best decision you've ever made!

bras d'honneur (arm of honor) - I'm sure some of you would know this. You make an L-shape with one arm and use your other hand to cup your bicep. Put your middle finger up for added insult power!

adieu - You say this for permanent goodbyes and farewells.

Kogota and Kashimadai are places in Osaki. I just removed the 'dai' part and used it for a last name. /unoriginal.

Ethnobiology: the scientific study of dynamic relationships between peoples, biota, and environments. I thought this would be a perfect career for Kate because of how she used flowers to help Haru relate to humans more.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes:** I want to apologize if this is moving too slowly. It follows pretty close to the anime but I've added in elements necessary for _my _plot line-it's just gotta build up. T^T I'm also sorry for my slowness in posting. (I've been working on a rather large SHINee fic.) But here's chapter two! I hope it's good.

Much thanks to Drosselmeyer's Ancestor and Gwyn the Goddess for their help.

Also, thanks to everyone who reviewed/faved/followed this story.

* * *

Things don't go as expected for Yuki and Kate. A storm in Enoshima floods the house they were supposed to move into and they end up having to stay in Furukawa for nearly a month.

Yuki didn't mind at first. They found a cheap place of their own to rent with the help of Mr. Kogota and for a several days, Yuki got to relax and do nothing. He played games with Mr. Kogota's sons, they looked up to him because he was older and Yuki liked them because they were generally good kids and he had wanted siblings while growing up. He also got to sleep whenever he wanted and wake up whenever he wanted.

It was almost like a never ending summer vacation.

Then Kate mentioned enrolling him in school so he could get back into the swing of the Japanese education systems. Yuki agreed very, very reluctantly and started attending the local high school.

He made no friends, in fact, no one really acknowledged him. The one time someone talked to Yuki, it was just to have him pass a note to a boy whom he sat next to.

It didn't bother him then, and doesn't bother him now as he sits at his desk, listening to his teacher explain to the class that he was transferring.

"I'm sure you're all sad." The teacher says and Yuki tries not to roll his eyes. No one is sad, least of all Yuki.

He fishes his phone out of his pocket, taking care to keep it hidden in his lap, and searches for appropriate aisatsu. It's been years since he's sat in a Japanese classroom and it feels like even longer since he's had to do formal goodbyes. He scrolls through the links that his search engine provides.

"Let's hear from Sanada-kun one last time before he leaves." His teacher says congenially.

Yuki puts his phone away quickly, having gleaned nothing of use, and slowly rises from his desk.

I have to say something, he thinks. But I never know what to say.

He steps up onto the little platform at the front of the class and looks at the room full of faces he can't name. Yuki quickly shifts his gaze to the floor.

"Um..." Yuki starts eloquently. "Thanks for...everything." He doesn't know what he's thanking them for. I didn't make a single friend or any fond memories.

A few people stare at him, including his teacher, and he sees the expectancy written on their faces. He gulps. Don't look at me like that. They continue to stare and some boys in the back begin whispering to each other.

Sweat runs down his face not unlike a downpour of rain.

Crap, Yuki thinks as his anxiety swells. It's happening. He feels his face shift itself; he can never stop the face once it's started. Water flows around his feet then upwards rapidly engulfing him.

Through his hazy vision, he can make out the startled expressions on the faces of his classmates and teacher.

Yuki does his best to swim through the water until he's outside of the school; in actuality, he had fled the classroom as if he was being chased by death itself. No one bothered to stop him while he was speeding down the halls, no doubt with a fiendish look on his face.

I did it again, he thinks as he walks home. Yuki kicks at the rocks littering the road.

When he first came to class and was asked to introduce himself, Yuki's anxiety had risen swiftly. He had "completely freaked out," as some of the guys in his class whispered later. The greeting was a disaster and Yuki partly blamed it for his lack of friends.

He also partly blamed himself because he didn't see the point in trying when everyone whispered about him.

It's a short distance from the school to his and Kate's temporary home. He passes the moving truck and the movers that carry the few things they've managed to collect in a month. He's still thinking of the chaos from class when Kate comes out of the house, a box in her hands.

"You shouldn't be carrying something so heavy!" Yuki says, though it sounds more like scolding, and races up to her.

"Oh, welcome home." She replies cheerfully. "I'm fine. This is the last one."

He carefully takes the box from her and heads towards the truck. She gives his back a small chuckle.

"How did it go?" Kate asks.

Yuki doesn't have the heart to tell her the truth. "Well, it went alright," is what he says instead; it's ambiguous and not quite a lie.

"I see." She replies just before their landlord calls to her.

Yuki puts the box in the truck, telling one of the movers that it's the last one. He stays long enough to watch them close the hatch before he goes inside the house.

It's empty; there is barely any trace of them left.

He goes to his room, equally empty save for his backpack and a spare change of clothes. He removes his uniform quickly, folding it haphazardly, and puts the change of clothes on. He picks up his backpack and leaves the uniform behind. He won't need it in Enoshima.

Yuki goes back outside once he's finished. Their soon-to-be-former landlord is giving Kate food while at the same time forcing her son to politely bow his head.

He slips past them and gets in the car. He's had enough goodbyes for one day.

After a few more pleasantries are exchanged, Kate finally joins him in the car. She hands him the plate of rice balls to hold so she can start the car.

Yuki turns the radio on, finds a pop song to listen to as Kate backs out of the drive.

"Let's go, Yuki." She says excitedly, pulling her pointed sunglasses down over her eyes. She's oddly glamorous for her age, always has been.

"Let's go to a wonderful place where I'm sure we'll find something good."

Yuki laughs in agreement. "To Enoshima!" He cheers.

**. . . .**

They drive with the windows down for awhile, Yuki sticking one hand out to play in the warm, summer wind. Road trips are much better than planes; there's more to see, more too experience.

He tries to stay awake throughout the ride, hyped up with the prospect of moving, and passes the time talking with Kate about various, insignificant things or just enjoying the songs on the radio as they pass through cities and towns. He occasionally takes pictures of the scenery—of Kate when her attention is more focused on driving—with his cell phone when the car isn't moving too fast.

His excitement doesn't stand a chance against his body's want for sleep though, and his eyes slide shut sometime before sunset.

Kate's gentle call of his name stirs him from slumber sometime later. They're parked outside of a hotel and a bleary-eyed glance at the car's radio tells him it's 1AM.

"We're stopping here for the night." Kate tells him. Yuki only nods tiredly and shuffles behind her; she'd already booked them a room before waking him.

When his head hits the pillow, he's out again in a deep, dreamless sleep.

**. . . .**

They set out again early the next morning and Yuki feels more refreshed after his night of rest. (He actually spends ten-minutes groggily rolling around in bed until Kate tickles him into rousting fully.)

He eats a rice ball as they leave Tokyo behind and enter Kanagawa.

Yuki feels his excitement build, calculating the distance between them and Enoshima with every mile marker they pass. He feels himself smile.

Kate laughs softly from the driver's seat. The expression is quickly marred by a wheezing cough that forces her to pull the car onto the shoulder lane.

"Grandma—" Yuki reaches for her but she holds up a hand to ward him off, using the other to cover her mouth.

Thoughts he would rather not think about swirl in his mind like gray clouds before a storm. Yuki holds them back as best as possible, but he can't do anything about the tear that rolls down one cheek. Gently, he rubs her back.

She takes a few gasping breaths once the fit subsides.

Yuki digs out a few tissues from the glove compartment; he carefully wipes the small beads of sweat from her face while she pats around her mouth.

Kate gives him a smile that doesn't quite reach her eyes and they resume their journey in silence.

Worry coils in Yuki's stomach and overrides the excitement from earlier. He shouldn't be so anxious about a cough, especially when Kate makes no fuss over it, doesn't even complain about it, but Yuki can't help himself. There's always a chance for things to go bad and while he doesn't want to be a pessimist, Yuki knows there is no sense in deluding oneself into a false sense of security.

There's a chance of relapse even after remission.

Yuki lets his head fall against the window and stares moodily at the passing scenery.

**. . . .**

"Yuki," Kate says after several hours go by. "Look." She directs her gaze upward to an overhead sign.

It reads Enoshima in giant white letters. Yuki's chest untightens a little and by the time the car makes its way onto the bridge connecting the island to the rest of Kanagawa, he's back to being excited.

He catches sight of the Tokyo Sky Tree from his peripheral vision and Kate flashes him a wide smile before turning her attention back to the road.

Yuki belatedly gives his own small smile to her profile, but he's still fascinated by the tower in the background. The Sky Tree makes him wonder what else is in the area and he consults his phone for the info, searching for nice places around the island.

Focused on his phone, Yuki misses the boy standing on the bridge with a fishbowl atop his head, watching them pass with excited heliotrope eyes.

Their new house is located on top of a small hill surrounded by the greenest trees Yuki has ever seen. He takes a moment to stare in awe, standing before the wrought iron security gate that separates the house's property from that of the train station's—which conveniently happens to be right in front of it.

"This is it?" Yuki asks, amazed.

"Yes, isn't it great?" Kate replies

Yuki agrees with an emphatic nod. It's absolutely great and he hasn't even seen the inside.

She about-faces to point at a building kitty-corner to their new home. "And that's where I'll be working." The weathered engraving on the building's front reads Samuel Cocking Garden.

Yuki smiles at that. Kate can never be too far from flowers.

She produces a key from her jacket pocket and wiggles her thin brows playfully. "Shall we?"

Kate unlocks the gate and they step into their new front yard together.

They trek up the steps leading to the house. He frets over Kate for a moment, but she takes them two at a time without being winded—unlike him. When they reach the front door, he hunches over his knees and sucks a deep breath in.

Kate laughs at him before opening the doors. Yuki gives her a playful sideways look as he steps inside.

The house is a fusion of Japanese and Western and the only word Yuki can really come up with to describe it as he moves around is grand. He makes his way to the back door and is momentarily stunned. It even has a glass enclosed veranda with gardens on both sides.

He walks through it and cannot help but think how everything suits Kate, which is perfectly fine for him. If she's happy, he's happy.

Yuki turns around when he reaches the gazebo and races back into the house to finish checking it out.

His room is upstairs, as designated by the boxes with his name on it, and it's the largest room he's ever had. Three of him could live in it comfortably, he thinks, staring at all the space. A bed has already been pushed up against a wall and there are drawers and bookcases set up.

A door leading out to a balcony catches his attention. He opens it and is greeted by the sight of the ocean, briny air wafting around him.

"Amazing." He says to himself. The morning sun glints off the water, lighting the cerulean surface brilliantly. Gulls cry as they swoop and dive above the bay. It really is amazing, Yuki thinks, leaning against the railing. He's never lived so close to the sea.

He wonders how far from the beach his school is and suddenly comes to the decision to check out it. He glances at the time on his phone; it's early still and classes probably haven't started.

His new uniform is folded neatly on his bed and Yuki undresses and redresses in record time. He pauses briefly to wonder if the light-blue blazer clashes with his hair, but there isn't much he can do about it. Yuki empties the unnecessary things from his backpack but keeps his notebook and a pen from his previous school.

Nervous excitement begins to fill him, which is strange. He's never been particularly excited about school before. There's something about Enoshima that says things are going to be different, he can feel it.

Yuki rushes down stairs, passing by Kate where she sits primly at a low table making ink.

"What do you think?" She asks.

Yuki takes some of the left over rice balls from the trip and puts them in a small brown bag. "This place is amazing!" He exclaims excitedly. "I can see the ocean."

She doesn't look up from her work, continually brushing the stick over the stone, but he knows she's listening.

"Are you really going to school? You could start tomorrow instead." Kate says.

Yuki tips a shoulder. "It makes no difference I go today or tomorrow."

She looks up, mildly surprised. "I see." Kate rises and follows him to the door. "I hope you make lots of friends." She adds. He can't count how many times she's said this to him with every move.

Yuki slips his shoes on, saying, "It's fine. I'm used to transferring by now."

He hugs her before opening the door, throwing an "I'll see you later" over his shoulder. He's halfway down the steps when Kate's voice stops him.

"Yuki!" She calls. "Smile, and hold your high."

Yuki squares his shoulders and gives her a big smile.

"That's it. There's a nice smile." Kate winks at him and Yuki gives her a quick wave before continuing his dash down the hill.

He only stops when he gets to a spot where he can see the bay and most of the island. It's beautiful, and Yuki is more assured that things will be different.

**. . . .**

That line of thought grinds to a halt when he's sitting on the train and a man stands before him reading a book. He's an older gentleman but Yuki can't really tell how old he is—Yuki has always been told it's polite to give up your seat to the elderly.

He's not that old yet, Yuki thinks, if I give up my seat he'd probably be offended.

The man smiles at him, unaware of Yuki's internal battle.

Crap, Yuki grimaces. I can't give up my seat now. But if I don't, he'll think I'm rude. He's drowning before he knows it, unaware that he's also scared the old man way.

Yuki surfaces, finds himself standing up too late. A boy wearing the same uniform as him has given up his seat instead. Yuki stares, mouth open. He feels like such an idiot, more so when a girl on the other side of the train giggles. She also happens to be in a familiar blue-blazer.

They both go to my school, he frets. They must have seen everything. Yuki slumps in his seat, humiliated, and stares out the window until the next stop.

When the train rolls to a stop and Yuki disembarks, he's glad the station is so close to the school. It makes him feel less like an idiot as he slinks behind the black haired boy and giggling girl. He follows them at a slow pace up the steps leading to the school, fingers wrapped tightly around the straps of his backpack. Though it isn't particularly astounding to look at, it's a pretty typical high school for Japan, Yuki looks at it like a stepping stone.

What happens in the next few minutes will determine his fate in Enoshima. I'll get it right this time, Yuki vows.

He steps into the school with a tad more confidence.

**. . . .**

"We've got two transfer students," Yuki's new teacher says. "But I guess one of them is running late."

Yuki stands beside him, back to the class as he writes his name on the chalkboard. He finishes just as the teacher asks him to introduce himself.

This introduction will decide everything.

Yuki wills his racing heart to calm down. Just do it normally, he tells himself. Normally.

"Nice to meet you," he caws, voice three octaves higher than normal. Yuki takes a deep breath then tries again. "Nice to meet you, I'm Sanada Yuki." It comes out much calmer and he continues. "I'm from Osaki, but I moved there from France. I've transferred more times than I can count but I'm still not accustomed to introducing myself. I'm sorry if I seem a little awkward."

He gets inviting looks from a few faces in the class. Good, keep it up.

His eyes find there way to the boy from the train. There's something vaguely familiar about him but Yuki doesn't know what and when their eyes meet, he stares blankly at Yuki before rudely closing his eyes. What just happened? Yuki thinks before he realizes he doesn't have to be spacing out.

"I saw the ocean on my way here." His mouth decides to lamely supply, "You can see the ocean from Enoshima." Everyone knows that, idiot. Yuki berates himself. He takes in a short, calming breath.

"The ocean's really big, the sky's beautiful, and the air is nice. Enoshima is a really wonderful place. And—" He freezes up. And what? Why did I say and? Just say something!

He's saved from speaking by his teacher's hands clapping. "Thank you." The man says and the class responds the same.

Yuki erases his name from the board. This is fine. I'll go calm down at my desk.

"I hope you'll be nice to Sanada-kun." His teacher says, addressing the class in his lazy drawl.

Yuki sits down in his seat next to the window. That was great, he thinks, tuning out his teacher. That's probably the best I've ever done—which is really kind of sad when he thinks about it, so he doesn't. A soft giggle gets his attention and he turns his head.

The girl from the train smiles at him. Why is she here? The sight of her shocks him unexpectedly. Yuki gasps, panicking, and his legs move faster than his brain; he's suddenly standing up, knocking his chair back loudly, which draws the attention of the whole class.

Oh no. Don't look! He mentally shouts. Nothing's happening! He wills their eyes to turn away from him.

The classroom door slides open, taking the much unwanted attention off of him. Yuki, grateful, sits down to stare like everyone else. A blond boy stands at the front of the room with a fishing pool nearly two times his height.

"Alien!" The class cheers.

Yuki looks around. Did they just call him an alien?

The blond peers about the room until his strange purple eyes land on Yuki. "There you are!" He swings his pole forward, miraculously not hitting anyone with it and shouts excitedly, "Yuki!"

Yuki sinks into his chair and for the first time ever, wishes an actual tidal wave would swell under him and drown him.

**. . . .**

The school day passes by quickly with Yuki avoiding the blond alien as much as possible. He trails behind Yuki during class changes, the rod of his fishing pole poking Yuki in the shoulder or back whenever they happened to cross paths. It sort of freaks Yuki out; he's never had anyone stalk him before.

No amount of ducking around corners or slouching behind other people prevents Haru from finding him though. The blond follows behind him determinedly from school to the train station. He prattles on in an obnoxious, whining tone that Yuki does his best to tune out and ignore.

"Hey, Yuki," Haru says as they wait for the train. "Let's be friends!"

"Who wants to be friends with you?" Yuki grumbles under his breath.

Haru pouts, pale brows drawn low and bottom lip pushed out. "That's not nice."

Yuki rolls his eyes, not particularly caring if he was nice or not at the moment. Haru was embarrassing him, had been since he stormed into the class. How did he even know my name? Yuki wonder to himself, stepping onto the train when its doors open.

There aren't many people on and so Yuki slumps into a seat without much worry and onlylooks up when Haru doesn't get on. The blond stands on the platform looking forlorn and strangely abandoned. Yuki looks away as the train begins its departure. Haru isn't his problem, or his friend for that matter. But telling himself this does nothing to abate the knot of guilt in his stomach.

A blur of black hair from the corner of his eye catches Yuki's attention. The boy from this morning and his first class sits a ways down from him. He stares out the train's window, glasses covered eyes looking nowhere but forward. He gives off an aloof air with his sloe-eyes and sharp boned face.

The boy catches Yuki's gaze and he quickly looks away, blushing. What's wrong with me? Yuki thinks, hiding his face in his hands. He isn't too sure why he's even embarrassed.

When he is stop is announced, Yuki rushes off the train faster than the speed of light. He ducks his head and prays that the black haired boy doesn't see him run away. He jogs the whole way home, not stopping until he falls across the entrance of the house.

Yuki lays on his back, catching his breath. Today had been crazy, almost too crazy. He closes his eyes, enjoying the coolness of the floor against his back. He doesn't realize he's nodded off until Kate wakes him.

"Welcome home." Kate says from above him.

Yuki sits up, grabbing his backpack from the spot he threw it down on. He stretches and flashes her a smile, hoping she doesn't read how fake it is.

"How was school? Did you make any friends?" They're the same questions he's heard a dozen times and dreads them each time they come out of her mouth.

"It was—" Before he can finish, the front door bursts open, revealing an over excited Haru.

"I'm home!" He shouts in weird Japanese, fishing pole raised above his head as he steps inside. Yuki can almost feel his jaw hit the floor.

"Welcome home." Kate greets him placidly, like Haru walking into their house unannounced (and unwelcome) was normal.

"Grandma, what's going on?" Yuki almost shouts. This absolutely was not normal!

She gives Yuki a look, something a long the lines of, 'my-foolish-grandson-you-should-know-better.' "As of today, Haru's going to be living with us." Kate says matter-of-factly.

"That's right!" Haru adds in horrible English.

Yuki's bag falls from his numb hands. It's not possible. He takes several steps back, stunned. Haru mirrors him by taking the same amount forward. It's not possible, Yuki's mind repeats as he continues walking backward. This leads to Haru following him around the house with the patience of a stalking cat.

It is possible. Yuki realizes this later when he's laying in his bed hours after Haru chased him outside like they were children, hours after he helped unpack the few belonging the strange boy owned. Haru's really going to live us.

In his half-sleeping state, Yuki doesn't mind. Haru is fun in a wholly obnoxious and childish way.

Yuki falls asleep and dreams of being tied to the end of Haru's fishing pole, a lure with a demon face. In his dream, the black haired boy from his class is the fisherman and Haru cheers exuberantly as he casts Yuki into the ocean.

* * *

**Notes:** I DO NOT HATE HARU. I just want to clear that up. Yuki's negative attitude towards him for the time being is part of the plot movement.  
* Yuki really was searching aisatsu for moving/going away called tenshutsu aisatsu.  
* What Yuki searches for on his cellphone when they are driving towards there house (well, according to my probably really inaccurate translation) is "sutekina tokoro" or "a nice place" which I assumed to mean he was looking for nice places in the area. Correct me if I'm wrong.


End file.
